The Feast Day of "San Luis Rey de Francia"

Today is the memorial of St. Louis IX, the only canonized king of France.  Mission San Luis Rey here in San Diego County is named for St. Louis IX.  The mission's name, "San Luis Rey de Francia," is the Spanish for "St. Louis King of France."

Tonight, the mission will have its 24th annual Heritage Ball, with all proceeds going to the preservation of the mission.

The nineteenth century Fiesta de San Luis Rey near the mission, which was then in ruins, is mentioned in an earlier post about local church history.

A Penitent Blogger has a post about the saint and his impact on 13th century France, including this:

"Most importantly, for the young king, religion was not a tool – quite the contrary, everything should be in service to faith."